Holiday Inn Express set for expansion

Holiday Inn Express set for expansion
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InterContinental Hotels (IHG) will unveil expansion plans for its Holiday Inn Express brand in the next two months with the east coast of Australia its initial focus.

Details of several projects are expected to be revealed as IHG sets its sights on building a network of more than 30 Holiday Inn Express properties across the country.

The first, announced earlier this week, will open in Perth in early 2015.

IHG head of development Australasia, Phil Kasselis, declined to expand on the plans but said expansion would be relatively rapid.

Most are likely to be new-build properties with the east coast the initial target.

"We would certainly expect to announce a number [of projects] in the next two months and I have previously said we have headroom for at least 30 hotels in Australia, probably in excess of that," he told Travel Today.

The modular nature of HIX makes them faster and cheaper to develop, a crucial aspect of its expansion in a market where the feasibility of hotel development "is hard to stack up", Kasselis said.

"Hotels can take anywhere from two to four or five years to develop, we can do an HIX in 12 months."

HIX properties will be located in "high visibility" suburban locations, Kasselis said.

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